Those of you who focused on the bad news during Sandy’s wrath missed a couple of key stories out of Atlantic City, such as the still unconfirmed reports that Revel CEO Kevin DeSanctis attached sails to his casino in the hopes that it would wash away to a land where people might actually go inside it.

Actually, there are two big stories out of the storm, and both involve the casino numbers. When October’s numbers are way off the mark of last year, expect the city’s ardent boosters to dismiss them, since we had closures as a result of a hurricane. Those folks will conveniently forget the crippling October 2011 snowstorm that they used to explain why that month’s numbers were down. They also won’t mention that October 2012’s disappointing numbers come with an extra casino — Revel — in the mix.

Then, when October 2013’s numbers exceed those from this month, you can watch as those same boosters somehow forget that the only reason the numbers are up is because we’ll have a full month of activity by which to measure them. By October 2014, someone will hopefully have decided to open a casino in North Jersey, or we’ll be reporting casino numbers not by hundreds of millions of dollars, but by the number of cigarettes cleaned up off the Boardwalk.

I’m even more irreverent on Twitter @joe_arney, but typically not when our office is closed.

Storm isn't all bad news for Atlantic City

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Short post today, since our offices are closed.

Those of you who focused on the bad news during Sandy’s wrath missed a couple of key stories out of Atlantic City, such as the still unconfirmed reports that Revel CEO Kevin DeSanctis attached sails to his casino in the hopes that it would wash away to a land where people might actually go inside it.

Actually, there are two big stories out of the storm, and both involve the casino numbers. When October’s numbers are way off the mark of last year, expect the city’s ardent boosters to dismiss them, since we had closures as a result of a hurricane. Those folks will conveniently forget the crippling October 2011 snowstorm that they used to explain why that month’s numbers were down. They also won’t mention that October 2012’s disappointing numbers come with an extra casino — Revel — in the mix.

Then, when October 2013’s numbers exceed those from this month, you can watch as those same boosters somehow forget that the only reason the numbers are up is because we’ll have a full month of activity by which to measure them. By October 2014, someone will hopefully have decided to open a casino in North Jersey, or we’ll be reporting casino numbers not by hundreds of millions of dollars, but by the number of cigarettes cleaned up off the Boardwalk.

I’m even more irreverent on Twitter @joe_arney, but typically not when our office is closed.